Generally speaking, the present invention pertains to a control system which provides a variable resistor and in general comprises a housing, a resistance path and a collector path carried in the housing, a rotating member carried in the housing, an electrical contact arm carried by the rotating member, spring means carried by the rotating member and engaging the electrical contact arm to bias same against the resistance and collector paths, and a set of electrical terminals carried by the housing and electrically connected to the resistance and collector paths.
The control system of the present invention also contemplates a switch which in general comprises a second set of electrical terminals carried by the housing, an electrical contact means carried by the rotating member and selectively bridging the second set of electrical terminals.
The present invention pertains to a control system which includes a combination of a variable resistor and a switch which is particularly adaptable for use in automobiles. More particularly, the variable resistor of the control system can be used to provide a variable resistance output to control the light intensity of the automobile's instrument panel and, at the same time, provide a switching function to turn the dome light on and off for example.